IN our business weekly chat talk; I have decided to look at some of the business principles that must be a part to the entrepreneurs in running small businesses.
It is important to understand among the business owners that forming and running a business are separate and each part has its own challenges. Today I want us to look at some of the major necessities in running small businesses.
One major problem that is common in running small businesses is that the businesses are started with minimal working capital.
The fact that small businesses are started with minimal working capital becomes a challenge for entreprenuers to engage professionals to help the business take off because of inadequate resources to pay for the expertise of managers, accountants, marketers and others in the line of businesses formation.
As a result of this status quo, the onus of running a business is placed on the shoulders of the owners. Therefore, the business owners are required to posses certain principles and qualities that go with the running of a business.
A formal registered business in any country conforms to the rules, regulations and guidelines on how they should operate under the relevant laws. For example, businesses are regulated on how to pay taxes, manage workers, and keep health standards, among others.
It is therefore, incumbent upon proprietors to posses certain principals and qualities in order to suit the business environment as required.
It is also critical to look at some requirements that must be associated with entrepreneurs in their day-to-day running of the businesses.
These are some of the principles and qualities that must be associated with the business entrepreneurs in the daily y running of the businesses:-
1) Honesty
2) Discipline
3) Punctuality
4) Availability
5) Hard working
6) Accommodating
7) Decision making
8) Innovativeness
Let us now look at each of them and see how important these principles and qualities are to the entrepreneurs.
1. Honesty-The business must be honesty in dealings. This principal brings trust and confidence not only to business associates but also to own workers. For example, a business that is founded on honesty in paying debts and timely payments of salaries to workers creates a lot of trust among workers and business associates.
2. Discipline- A disciplined entrepreneur creates avenue of success in a business. For instance, a financially disciplined entrepreneur commits the business money to its intended purposes. So many small business that are started well have gone under because of financial mismanagement,
3. Punctuality-An entrepreneur must always set an example to workers by coming for work early. This motivates workers to observe panctuality. reporting for work late slows down progress of the business.
4. Availability-To be available entails the presence of the business owner to supervise workers in line with the stipulated vision. A small business has no proper supervisory structures hence the presence of a proprietor owners is very cardinal.
5. Hard working-A business owner must always be hard working and pay attention to details in all areas. This enables him or her to make good business decisions.
6. Accommodating- A business owners must always be accommodating to new business ideas.
7. Decision making- A business owner must be quick to make decision to avoid challenges. For example, if a business is going through operation challenges and unable to keep unproductive workers, a decision must be made to lay off such employees.
Innovativeness- The business must be innovative and this calls for the entrepreneur switch to other business if the undertaking being run is not sustainable.
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By JUDITH NAMUTOWE -
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has said the feasibility study on the Batoka Hydropower Station has been reviewed.
ZRA chief executive officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said in an interview yesterday that the review on the demo structure, power house and capacity output on the project had been completed.
Mr Munodawafa said the authority was currently waiting for the second phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
‘‘We have reviewed the Batoka Hydropower Station feasibility study. The study on the demo structure, power house structure and the capacity output on the project has been completed,’’ Mr Munodawafa said.
He said the finalisation of the study and the EIA was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.
Mr Munodawfa said consultants were currently working on other processes and thereafter the project committee which include senior Government officials , utilities and ZRA would visit the project this month.
He said once all these processes were completed, ZRA would then be able to select the developer for the project, after which the authority would be able to come up with the actual value of the project.
Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to team up and start the Batoka hydropower project which is estimated to cost about US$4 billion.
The agreement was signed during the council of ministers held at Kariba in Siavonga recently.